Local News

One person was injured and another was cited after a motor vehicle accident in southwest Grants Pass early yesterday. Grants Pass Police and emergency crews responded to the two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Redwood Highway and Allen Creek Road on Monday shortly after 10 a.m.. Details about the incident were sketchy, but a Nissan Sentra and a Toyota RAV-4 driven by female motorists were involved in a rear-end collision. The northbound turn lane on Allen Creek Road was temporarily closed by debris in the roadway. According to GPPD, one of the drivers was transported to the hospital with minor injuries while the other refused medical transport. The Nissan was towed from the crash scene. Following an investigation, a motorist identified only as "Farris" was cited for No Operator's License.

 

A Grants Pass woman was injured early yesterday when she lost control of her car and crashed on Interstate 5 in the north part of the city. The Oregon State Police reports troopers and emergency personnel responded to a single-vehicle wreck in the northbound lanes of I-5 near milepost 58 on Monday shortly before 8 a.m.. Troopers said the driver -- a 26-year-old Grants Pass woman -- stated that she lost control of a Toyota Camry she was driving while attempting to enter the freeway and crashed into a concrete barrier. According to OSP, the driver was transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center with suspected minor injuries. No one else was hurt. Her 23-year-old male passenger recovered the damaged vehicle with help from friends.

 

A suspect is in custody for allegedly using a firearm to rob a Shady Cove business last weekend. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office reports deputies responded to a 9-1-1 call regarding an armed robbery at Burgers & Brews restaurant on Highway 62 in Shady Cove on Sunday at 5:44 p.m.. Deputies and Eagle Point police officers arrived on scene and located the suspect vehicle at the Shady Cove Chevron gas station at 5:55 p.m.. After a brief standoff, the suspect surrendered without incident. The suspect -- 24-year-old Jonathan Allen Rusch of Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin -- was charged with 1st-Degree Robbery, Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Menacing. He was booked and lodged at the Jackson County Jail. Sheriff's officials said the case remains under investigation and there is no more information that will be released at this time.

 

A stolen vehicle investigation led to the arrests of two people on drug charges at a Grants Pass motel last weekend. Grants Pass Police responded to Motel 6 on NE 7th Street Sunday morning after the owner of a stolen vehicle reported seeing it in the motel parking lot. Police officers arrived on scene to find the red Dodge pickup unoccupied, but surveillance video from the motel showed a female subject driving the truck into the parking lot and contacting the occupants of a motel room. The occupants -- identified as 43-year-old Joseph Scott Doyle, Jr., and 35-year-old Sarah Elizabeth Roddy -- consented for officers to enter the room where they found drug paraphernalia in plain view. Both admitted to using methamphetamine the night before and a glass pipe containing the narcotic stimulant was seized. According to the report, neither party had any information on the female who was driving the stolen truck which was released to its rightful owner. Doyle and Roddy were lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Meth Possession and they were trespassed from Motel 6.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested four fugitives on local and outside warrants during weekend contacts in Josephine County. OSP reports the first incident occurred on Saturday at 3:14 p.m. when troopers pulled over a Toyota Corolla driven by 47-year-old Heather Kathleen Watson at 7th and M streets in Grants Pass. Troopers said they stopped Watson for a traffic violation and discovered she was wanted on a statewide felony warrant for Parole Violation. The second incident happened on Saturday at 8:28 p.m. when troopers pulled over a Ford Taurus driven by 29-year-old Steven Anthony Vorland of Grants Pass. He was stopped for a traffic violation before troopers learned that he was wanted on Jackson and Josephine County warrants. The third incident took place on Sunday at 7:35 p.m. when troopers pulled over a Mazda MZ5 driven by 45-year-old Daniel Lamar Coker of Oakland, Oregon, near milepost 6 of Redwood Highway. He was stopped for speeding and found to be wanted on a Lincoln County warrant. The fourth incident occurred on Sunday at 9:28 p.m. when troopers stopped to help a disabled motorist in the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 near milepost 66. One of the occupants -- identified as 43-year-old Altrina Marie Styron of Lincoln City -- was wanted on an out-of-county warrant.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested three motorists for impaired driving following weekend traffic stops in Josephine County. According to OSP, the first incident occurred on Friday at 11:19 p.m. when state troopers pulled over a Honda Fit driven by a 28-year-old Medford woman near milepost 1 of Williams Highway in south Grants Pass. Troopers said they stopped her for multiple traffic violations and she displayed signs of impairment. The second incident happened on Sunday at 12:18 a.m. when troopers pulled over a Toyota Corolla driven by a 34-year-old Williams man on Redwood Highway at Fairgrounds Road in Grants Pass. He was stopped for multiple traffic violations and showed signs of impairment. The third incident took place on Sunday at 10:22 p.m. when troopers pulled over a Buick Lacrosse driven by a 25-year-old man from Phoenix, Arizona, in the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 near milepost 66. He was stopped for several traffic violations and exhibited signs of impairment.

 

The Grants Pass City Parks maintenance team accomplished a variety of key projects last week. City parks crews applied herbicides to manage invasive vegetation, pruned shrubs and detailed landscaped beds to improve plant health and aesthetics. Fresh bark was added to several bed areas while leaves were cleared from lower-priority zones to maintain a clean and well-kept appearance. In ongoing efforts to build the Dollar Mountain Trail System, crews planted 100 native pine tree plugs to restore areas damaged by motorized vehicles that have encroached on the trails, contributing to habitat restoration and environmental health. Staff also added river rock along the path at Riverside Park to improve the visual appeal and drainage of the pathway.

 

A Josephine County judge on Monday ordered the city of Grants Pass to stop taking any enforcement against homeless campers for two weeks, pending a deeper review of a new legal challenge. Disability Rights Oregon filed a lawsuit last Thursday to halt the City of Grants Pass from closing one of two sanctioned homeless camps and restricting the hours of the other. Josephine County Circuit Judge Brandon S. Thueson signed a temporary restraining order that prohibits the City of Grants Pass from citing, arresting, detaining, fining or otherwise prosecuting any person for camping anywhere in the city for the next 14 days. The order will temporarily allow camping in city parks. The judge signed the order after hearing argument for about one hour. Tom Swenson, deputy legal director of Disability Rights Oregon, praised his decision. Disability Rights Oregon, joined by the Oregon Law Center, filed a suit on behalf of five people ages 47 to 66 who live with disabilities. There are an estimated 300 to 400 people camping in Grants Pass, according to Disability Rights Oregon. The lawsuit alleged that the closure of one of two acceptable camping sites in the city violated state law and is not "objectively reasonable as to time, place and manner." Stenson said his advocacy group had approached the city many times to caution against closure of one of two remaining camping sites without providing an alternative.

 

Pacific Power responded to widespread storm-related outages across its Southern Oregon service area on Monday. Close to 11,000 customers in Oregon have been impacted by these snow-related outages. Crews are actively working to make repairs and restore power in areas impacted by the storm. Snow accumulation and continued winter weather has resulted in hazardous conditions impacting repair and restoration times. The National Weather Service underestimated Monday's storm by posting a Winter Weather Advisory that was upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning late yesterday. By then, record snowfall had already blanketed the region, forcing school closures and early releases. All local school districts remain closed today for safety. Grants Pass received a record snowfall of 5 inches yesterday, easily breaking the old record of a half-inch in 1949. The Medford Airport measured 6.3 inches. The National Weather Service has posted another Winter Weather Advisory for today from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.. More snow is expected, with up to an inch from the Illinois Valley to Grants Pass, but up to 5 inches across southeast Josephine County, most of Jackson County east of Rogue River and also eastern Douglas County near Toketee Falls.